Four anti high-stakes testing bills pass through the New Jersey State Assembly

An alliance of parent, community and education groups worked together to pass four bills though the state assembly of New Jersey. Three of the bills passed unanimously.

Last year, Governor Christie maneuvered to defeat Save Our Schools and their allies. This year the alliance grew and became stronger. Opt outs of the first round of PARCC are over 40K this year.

We can do this in our state.

These are the four bills that passed through the state assembly:

S2767/A4165
Protects students from “sit & stare” and other punitive measures imposed when their families refuse high-stakes standardized tests. A4165 was unanimously approved by the New Jersey Assembly on March 26, 2015.

S2768/A4190
Freezes the use of PARCC high-stakes standardized test scores for three years, to enable this experimental test to be proven effective before it is used to evaluate our children, our teachers, and our public schools. A4190 was approved by the New Jersey Assembly by a bipartisan vote of 63 Yes to 7 No, on February 23rd, 2015.

S2766/A3079
Prohibits the administration of non-diagnostic standardized tests prior to 3rd grade. A3079 was unanimously approved by the New Jersey Assembly on March 9, 2015.

S2765/A3077
Informs families of all standardized tests administered by school districts and charter schools, including their uses and costs. A 3077 was unanimously approved by the New Jersey Assembly on March 9, 2015.